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Monthly Archives: April 2016

It’s hard to believe that I’m coming up on the 4th Anniversary of publishing my first book, Ghost Lover! Wow, it’s been a wild ride, but one I’m glad I got on.

As for my surprise, here’s a little hint: This surprise is being set up to help fellow authors market their work. It’s going to be a really exciting venture. Being a writer myself, I know the hardships of trying to get your book in front of the reader. But that’s all I can tell you at the moment.

I know, I’m being vague, but the final stages of the process are not ready to be revealed. If things go well, I should be able to make the final reveal next week. But I can tell you this, for those that share the reveal and post it, there will be some free goodies for them.

I hope you have a great Friday. Enjoy the day and know, only a couple of hours til the weekend.

Like this:

Does writing relax you? When you’re writing, do you feel better than you did before you started putting words to paper or laptop? For me, it’s a relaxing time spent. So many people don’t understand that point.

I have people that tell me, ‘you need to take some time off from writing and relax’, but they don’t understand, when I’m writing, total relaxation comes over me. It’s the moment that I can get totally lost in another world for just a little while. Even during the busiest part of tax season, I’d find a few minutes to write. That way I had a little relaxing time.

Do you relax while you’re writing? Now, I know that when you’re getting close to a deadline, things can get a little intense, but be honest, even in those moments you’re probably still enjoying yourself, or I hope you are. Becoming an author has been such a refreshing step away from the craziness that can envelop you.

So, does it relax you or stress you out? If it stresses you out, you need to figure out why.

It’s back to work I go this morning after my short time off. The time was too short, but I did manage to finally get all the wallpaper off my bathroom walls, then paint it. I’ll post pictures once I get the decorations in place.

I’m still working on my surprise that will be announced one day this week. Also, my newest manuscript in the works is “The First Mate’s Lady”. It’s the companion book to “Safe in the Pirate’s Arms”. So many of my wonderful fans wanted to know more about Tom Breckin, so his story is coming. As I write it, I have to lose myself in the time of the pirate. I have to think salty air, tar covered decks and the sound of waves crashing against the ship. Crazy the things I remember from reading so many books about Pirates.

So, here’s a little snippet from “The First Mate’s Lady”:

His gaze moved across the dance floor, meeting the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. Stopping in his tracks, he watched the woman in a gold and silver mask. For a long moment, Tom forgot how to breathe. Before he knew what was happening, he was walking toward her. Reaching out, he took her hand and led her to the dance floor. As he bowed to her, she dipped down, smiling beneath the mask. Her eyes never left his as they danced, both pulled into the moment. The music drifted into another song, neither noticing. When he tightened his embrace, she pushed out of his arms, almost running from the room. Tom raced after her, finding her at the garden wall. She didn’t look his way as he touched her shoulder. “Sweet lady, I know you felt the same draw I did. Please look at me with those blue eyes that make a man lose his senses.” Kaly turned, but when her eyes looked up into his, they were filled with sadness. “Sir, I felt nothing and if I did, I wouldn’t dare say so, for fear that it would give you the wrong idea. Please forgive me, but I must leave.” “Can I please know you’re name, for your beauty mesmerizes me.” Tom reached out to lift her hand to his lips. “As this is a masquerade ball, I prefer to stay a mystery to you.” Kaly looked up into his searching eyes, causing her heart to flutter wildly in her chest. She knew who this man was. Kaly had watched him from the docks earlier. He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen, but she could never be anything more than she was to him now, a mystery. “Please, my lady, remove your mask so that I may look upon your full beauty.” Tom reached up, removing his mask. “I need to see your face.” Kaly smiled, then she reached up to caress his handsome cheek. Then pushing up on her toes, she touched her lips to his, feeling his surprised smile caress hers. Tom pulled her against him, deepening the kiss. Kaly felt sad, knowing this would be the only kiss they’d ever share, for she would disappear afterwards. Tom pulled back, looking down at her blues eyes, the moon dancing in the tears that filled them. He reached out to wipe away the tear that escaped. “What could put such sad tears in such beautiful eyes?” “This you shall not know, but know that you’ve made me happy, for just this moment, but I must leave you.” Kaly pulled out of his arms, turning to go. “Don’t go,” Tom said as he pulled her back, close to him. “Sir, you don’t know the reasons I must leave you, but know this, if I ever set eyes on you again, I shall never leave you.” Kaly knew she’d never see him again, but she enjoyed the hope in his eyes. It made her feel like maybe he would help her. “A promise I hope you’ll keep, for I’ll search for you in all my endeavors.” Tom saw the desperation in her eyes, so he released her arm, letting her slip into the shadows beyond the garden. For a long while, he watched the darkness, hoping she’d return, but knowing she wouldn’t. That lady, beautiful and enchanting as she was, had something to run from, but what?

Did I say, Tom’s a charmer and Kaly is on the run? I love my cowboys, all of you know that, but I also love my Pirate’s! So, “The First Mate’s Lady” is coming out June 5th. Stay tuned for more excerpts and some possible giveaways.

Good afternoon! It’s good to be back to almost normal. Another tax season under my belt, but man I’m exhausted, mentally. As with every year, I’m taking some time off to get my brain back in the game. Of course in my world, that means getting things completed that have been put off for three months.

First on my list was to get my summer clothes out of the attic and my winter clothes put away. Yikes, my brain can’t handle that all at once, so I moved on to the second phase of my time off work. That phase is to paint our two bathrooms. Sounds easy, but they have wallpaper on the walls that has been there for 22 years. As I started to pull the paper off, well, as my luck would have it, the top layer came off, not the bottom. So I’ve spent the last two days spraying the walls with a mixture of water and fabric softener. All I can say about that is, my house smells like a field of flowers!

So, I’ve been scraping and spraying, spraying and scraping. Shall I go one, no, I don’t think so? So, I’ll tell you what I’ve been up to with my writing. Not much, but I did manage this week to finish a synopsis and submit to the Harlequin Heartwarming Blitz. We’ll see where it goes from here.

As for my word counts which have suffered greatly over the last couple of weeks, I’m working on catching up, but it will take a while. But I am back to blogging and finding out what all of you, my friends, have been up to. So, feel free to fill me in and catch me up to speed on everything 🙂

In the coming days, I’ll be announcing something that I’ve been working on for a while, but wasn’t sure about. But, I’m extremely excited about it. I want to announce it now, but I want everything in place before I step out into the light with my new venture. So, keep watching for news.

Wow, it’s Monday. Where did the weekend go? Time flies when you’re working all weekend and get only a little bit of down time. Oh, but I can see the end of the tunnel and I’m running as fast as I can toward the light 😉

As far as my writing, I’m trying desperately to keep up with my word count, but I can see that next week while my office is closed for some much-needed r & r, I’ll be writing, writing, and writing some more. “A Light Upon My Heart” is now in my editor’s hands for the last and final edit before publication, yeah!

In among the tax returns and accounting, I’ve somehow managed to enter a couple of pitch contests. I received some good advice from an editor that helped me with one of my pitches. I’m working on another Blitz entry, but that will save until next week.

Do you get into the pitch wars or blitz’s that publishers do? Have you ever thought about it? I can say it’s a definite rush and so much fun. I suggest looking into the pitch contests on Twitter, even if you don’t get a request, some of the editors will come in and give you pointers. It helps!

Hope everyone has a great Monday~ I have one more week of tax season, then I’ll overload this site with posts, so get ready. I’m almost back to normal…

It’s time to announce the winner of my “A Light Upon My Heart” cover reveal contest. But first, I want to thank all of you lovely Bloggers, Tweeters, and Facebookers for all the wonderful shares and likes. It was a phenomenal reveal, but only because of all of you.

Of course, I can only choose one, so, drum roll………. the winner is Sara Beth Williams from over at https://authorswilliams.wordpress.com/. Congratulations Sara! Thanks for the shares! If you will email me at stephaniehurt4@gmail.com and give me your address, I’ll mail you a copy of the book as soon as it’s released.

But don’t worry, I have several contests coming up. Just keep watching. Also, I’ll be doing a backstock clearance sale in the next couple of weeks, so don’t miss an episode of my writing blog. Can I call it an episode? I don’t know, but it sounds good 😉

Good Friday morning! Yes, I said Friday… Although I’ll work through the weekend trying to finish the tax returns on my desk, I still have a writing deadline looming. But, to keep things exciting, I added cinnamon to my coffee this morning. It’s good, you should try it.

But, now on to my post and the cinnamon is part of it. Adding the cinnamon just gave me a different taste and that’s what I’ve been doing lately. I was given the pleasure of becoming a guest blogger on the site Reading As My Therapy and I’ll be a regular on Melissa’s site. It’s an exciting new place to give authors a voice and place to showcase their work. It’s also available on Facebook, so come by and follow here on WordPress to keep up, but don’t forget to go to Facebook too for a follow.

Things are getting exciting with my writing career and I can’t help but smile at the response to my work. I’ve met so many wonderful people that added cinnamon to my life, in other words, all of you make my life special, just as the added spice to my morning coffee. I thank you from the bottom of my heart…

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Love to hear from fans!

Hey guys,
I love a good romantic story. I guess that is why I started writing
romance novels. It is so exciting to start out a romance and see
it to the end.
Check out my books on Smashwords, Createspace, and Amazon.
Would love to hear a review or two.